Slow start for Ellwood pays off, 5-3

Saturday

NEW BRIGHTON - With four teams tied for first place in Section 5-AA, every game in the section takes on even more significance.

As one of those four teams, the Ellwood City High School baseball team played that way at New Brighton Friday night.

Designated hitter Tanner Gilchrist laid down the perfect sacrifice bunt in the top of the sixth inning to put two runners in the scoring position. Jared Vetica followed with a first-pitch double to centerfield, and the Wolverines had a 5-3 lead that eventually became a 5-3 win.

"I was set for a first-pitch fastball, and I got it," said leftfielder Vetica. "Tanner set it up with the bunt after Chris Shurtz walked, and Anthony Carusone hit it hard.

"We were behind early, but we were confident."

The Wolverines had fallen behind 3-1 even though New Brighton hadn't hit starter Christian Kerns hard.

New Brighton scored two in the first - on a wild pitch and a near double play on a short fly ball. The run scored while the Wolverines went for the third out at second base.

New Brighton's final run in the fourth was a result of three walks and an infield hit.

Ellwood City tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. Gilchrist walked to open the inning, and the first run scored when Gino Ceriani's grounder to third resulted in a two-base error. Matt Germanowski followed with a double that scored Ceriani and tied the score.

Meanwhile, big right-hander Anthony Carusone was shutting down New Brighton. Carusone retired the first seven batters he saw and finished with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out one.

"I knew I had a solid defense behind me," said Carusone, the winning pitcher. "I knew we were going to come back and get the big hit, and Jared did. We were behind (Thursday) at Laurel and came back.

"We were fired up for this game because we know we have to go full out for every game in this section."

The Wolverines remain tied for first place in the section with a 4-1 record and are 8-2 overall, but the tie isn't a four-way tie any more as a result of Riverside's 7-6 win over Mohawk.

The Wolverines will now host Riverside Monday at Ewing Park with both teams tied for first place.

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